A Tro Tro Adventure

The day was Friday. I needed to be in Wa for a 4:00 meeting. "I'll leave my house by noon," I told myself. After I finished everything that needed to be done before leaving Lawra, I locked my door before11:00! I walked into Lawra Town to the tro station and saw a zillion Senior Secondary School students. They were on Easter holiday! And, they all wanted a seat on the tro. So, I prayed a prayer, "O Lord, PLESE let me get a seat on this tro." I went up to the station master and bought my ticket. "Thank You, Jesus!" Of course, there was no change for my ten Ghana Cedi note. I was to receive two Ghana Cedis in change. "I will give it to you," I was told. I asked who was the driver and asked him if I could sit in the front seat - wrong choice! But, there is more leg room.

 

The driver was getting ready to leave. So, he opened the passenger door and lifted the seat. Then, he did something with the wires or engine or whatever. And, the car started! He flipped the seat back down and we all entered. One of the female students sat next to me, in the middle. And, we were off! Yes, it did feel like we were on a race track. The trip gave me plenty of reasons to pray! I am thinking to myself, "There is a curve in the road - TURN!" The driver did turn, but, never slowed down a bit. Oh, I imagined all kinds of things...fishtailing, sliding on the dry, dirt road.... Then, two tro tros are coming in the opposite direction at the iron ONE LANE bridge. Yet, our driver doesn't slow down. The first tro crosses the bridge and continues towards Lawra. Then, we proceed onto the bridge, at an uncomfortable speed, just missing the other tro. Praise God, we were safe! I decided it would be best if I just closed my eyes for the rest of the trip.

 

As we entered the larger towns, Jeripa and Nadowli, I open my eyes. When I touched my glasses to reposition them, the lens fell out. "Thank You, Jesus, I am on my way to Wa. Please let the Red Cross Optical be open." I put my glasses in my bag. The driver honks his horn and flies through each town. We made it to Wa safely, because of the grace of God. We made excellent time! And, I was provided with the opportunity of doing a LOT of praying!

 

Just another day in the Upper West!

 

 

A Tro Tro Adventure

A typical type of public transportation here in Ghana is the "tro tro." A tro tro is a van that has enough seats to accommodate about 20 people. So, early this morning, a friend and I got on a tro tro headed fo Wa. It was a pleasant 2 hour trip. It wasn't too crowded, only about 18 people. But, on the way back, it was another story. The tro tro had seats for 20. Theoretically, by law, everyone must have a seat. There were at least 25 people, plus their purchases. The windows were held together with tape and you could feel every bump and stone in the road. Even though it was a bit crowded, it wasn't too bad. About 4 kilometers from Lawra, the tro tro pulls over. The driver talks to a bunch of people on the road, then, tells everyone to get out of the tro tro. He then loads up with all these other people. They paid him well to take them & their stuff to the river. They were planning to enter the bordering country illegally. And, there we were, sitting under a mango tree. We ended up getting a ride to Lawra from a friend of my friend. My friend reported the driver to the police. When the tro tro finally made it to Lawra, with it's original passengers, the police went after the driver. The driver knew he was at fault and took off, leaving a trail of dust...just another typical Ghanaian day!